By
Andrew DeMarco
I have been noticing lately that there has been a lot of talk about how the American Dream is dead. This got me thinking about my father and his father, my Grandfather DeMarco both of whom where immigrants. From all the stories I heard about my grandfather, he had a dream to come to America and make a better life for himself and his family. In fact, he followed his dream with such determination that he made approximately 15 crossings of the Atlantic Ocean. The first time he came to America, he came to see if he should continue pursuing his dream and to see what America was like. After being here for a few years he determined that America was indeed a land of opportunity and went back to Italy to begin his pursuit of his dreams. When he returned to America, he set off to establish himself so when he brought his entire family over, he would not be indebted to anyone and all would be here legally. Once established he returned to Italy yet again and after a brief stay, he brought his oldest son my Uncle Gaetano to America and stayed with him until he was settled. He did the same with my father, making sure all was legal and once again making sure he was established. His final crossing was when he brought the remainder of the family over.
My father also had a dream. His dream was that since he had a limited amount of education, he wanted to start his own business and have a family. He also wanted to see his children graduate from college, a dream which he achieved. But before he started pursuing his dream, he served his adopted country in the armed forces during World War II becoming a citizen in what was then the territory of Alaska.
Getting back to the American Dream, my premise is, and I know this will upset some out there but please bear with me. If you notice in my tale of my grandfather and father there are a couple of key pronouns, he and his. My point is there is no American Dream. Yes, that is what I said there is no American Dream. It is the dreams, hopes and aspirations of every individual whether it is an Irishman’s dream, a German’s dream or a Korean’s Dream, you name it. America was just a means or conduit for them or anyone to attain their goals. My grandparents had relatives who chose to pursue their dreams in Brazil and for them it worked out. In my case my family realized that America was the best place to achieve their dreams and I was fortunate that they did.
A further example is that I have friend who was born in Italy and came here when he was very young and attained his “American” dream. He has since moved back to Italy where he has pursued and has now found his “Italian” dream. Again, they were his dreams. There is that pesky pronoun again. I am sure that some of you would like to see what his Italian Dream is about so follow the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/OFINx-hr–4
(By the way their olive oil is incredible and their gift baskets make great Christmas gifts.)
A wise man once said, “You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.” I don’t know who said it, but he was right on. Once one dream is reached it is time to move on to the next one.
I am the beneficiary of my grandparents and parent’s decision to go after their dreams here in America. Because of that I am fortunate to live in a country where going after whatever dreams I have makes it easier for me to fulfill them. I will always keep dreaming because when I achieve my dream and move on to the next one it gives me that feeling that Cousin Bob would call that… Rosy Glow!
Bob's Rosy Glow 